If you like to grow flowers in the summer and you’ve never heard of “deadheading” before, it’s a process you should know about. Almost every plant that flowers goes through a process where some blooms die out and new blooms form. Some specific plants, though, have the ability to form new blooms more rapidly if old blooms are removed once they’re dead. Some plants like this include petunias, marigolds, phlox, coneflower, and balloon flower.
Below is a photo of balloon flowers that need to be headheaded. By simply removing the dead, dried up flower buds, you’ll make room for a new blossom to emerge. In fact, if you look closely, you’ll see a bulge in the plant, below the old, dead flower head, where a new bloom is ready to come out, once the old flower head is removed.
Coneflowers will have to be deadheaded in a slightly different manner. Instead of plucking off individual dead blooms, you’ll want to take a pair of scissors and cut back the dead flower’s stem, almost down to the base of the plant. This will encourage the plant to produce more blooms. By keeping coneflowers and other similar flowers trimmed back of dead blossoms, you’ll be rewarded with a plant that will continue blooming and looking great all summer long.
